One Step Closer to a Burka

Imagine this: a young girl, only 16-years-old, gets raped by her uncle'her mother's brother. The event was traumatizing, but the aftermath is even worse: she is pregnant. Afraid to tell anyone in her family, this young girl turns to a teacher for help. She begs and pleads for her teacher to keep this a secret from her family. Secretly, this young girl blames herself. What she tells her teacher, though, is that she doesn't want to tear the family apart.

By COED Staff

The teacher doesn't know what to do, but she cares deeply about this student and wants what is best for her. At the age of 16, the girl is in no way ready to have a child; she is young, immature and the victim of a horrible crime. The teacher agrees to take her to get an abortion. Unfortunately, in this state, abortions are illegal for women under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent. So, teacher and student pack up the car and head across state lines to get this girl what she needs. The next day, they return home. The student is sore and emotional, yet extremely grateful to her teacher for giving her back her future.

Now imagine that teacher being thrown in jail and slammed with a large fine for helping her student. This is a harsh reality with a new bill passed yesterday by the Senate. The bill, which was passed 65 to 34, will make it illegal for anyone to help a minor cross state lines to get an abortion. More important, though, this bill is yet another roadblock, keeping women from deciding the fate of their own bodies and lives.

Abortion is a very sticky situation. When I was in 6th grade, I chose to oppose abortion for my debate class. I truly felt it was wrong to kill a defenseless baby; to end the life of an innocent child. But, as I’ve grown older and experienced the world, I’ve realized that it is not my (or anyone else’s) choice. I also realized that if I were to find out that I was pregnant, I would seek out my options. Including abortion.

But how I feel about abortion is not the issue. Neither is the way the government feels about it. No one should even have a say in the issue except the woman whose body is in question. You (or Bush or the Senate or your grandmother etc.) may be morally opposed to abortion, but sometimes there are more than just morals on the line. There is the future of both the mother and child. There is the question of capability, responsibility, money and mental health. Not everyone can be a mother. Not everyone is ready to be a mother. And not everyone should be involved in the decision of who should be a mother.

As an American woman'a free woman'it is my right to decide what happens to my body and in my life. It is not your decision or his. It is mine. And even if I was 14 years old, and I knew in my gut that I was not ready to be a mother, it should not be my mother's decision what happens to me. It should be mine. I shouldn't have to tell my mother. I should be able to go an do what I need to do. The fact that minors can't get abortions in all states is already a problem. The fact that they still need to turn to someone else for help is a problem. Don't create a bigger problem by punishing those that are kind enough to help.